QuestionsQuestions (DSWD DEPARTMENT CIRCULAR NO. 06)
It declares the State’s policy to defend children’s right to assistance, including proper care and nutrition, and to provide special protection against neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation, and other conditions prejudicial to their development.
Day Care service is an arrangement providing temporary supplemental parental care part of the day when parents cannot attend to the child’s needs. Supplemental parental care is the temporary care by the Day Care Worker that ensures comfort and safety and provides early childhood enrichment such as creative experiences, mental stimulation, cognitive skills development, and value formation.
A child is a person six years of age and below.
Potentially neglected: left alone part of the day because the mother is working outside the home or busy with other activities without adult care. Neglected: basic needs deliberately unattended or inadequately attended, including physical and emotional neglect, and includes being unattended without proper supervision. Abused: unreasonably deprived of basic needs for survival or inflicted with physical injuries by parents/guardians/custodian to a degree that could seriously impair growth/development or cause permanent disability/death; includes sexual and psychological abuse.
A child who has no proper parental care and whose parents have deserted him for at least 6 continuous months.
A child induced or forced by parents/guardians or other persons/circumstances to indulge in activities that endanger the child’s moral, emotional, and social development.
A facility in a barangay where children 3 to 6 years old are cared for during part of the day by an accredited Day Care Worker.
It must use sources of data such as (a) family/community survey, (b) barangay demographic profile, (c) results of operation timbang, and (d) others; then share data with the barangay chairperson and conduct explanation to the community through an assembly; only one day care center per barangay; and schedule home visits for intake after the assembly.
The intake process individually identifies children’s specific needs and secures required information. It is individually conducted through home visit and interview by the Supervising Social Welfare Officer using the attached intake form.
In cases of children who are abused, neglected, or exploited, parental consent for their child’s total development and protection shall not be required.
The parent must present the child’s birth certificate; if not registered with the local civil registrar, parents must be assisted to ensure registration. The SSWO also records immunization types/dates and accomplishes the child development checklist.
The child is referred to the health center, and arrangements should be made for mass immunization and medical/physical check-up; the child must have complete immunization for prevention of specified diseases and such other vaccines developed for children up to six years of age.
Using the child development checklist (CDC), the SSWO and the DCW identify children with disabilities and, if found with disabilities/illnesses, appropriate referral is made.
Care for children during part of the day (and if feasible, during night while parents are at work) under supervision of the SSWO; early childhood development activities such as value formation, mental stimulation, and supervised play; and regular monitoring of growth and nutrition monthly by the Day Care Worker.
They shall be referred to the DSWD Unit Office for supplemental feeding.
Foster homes are developed and maintained by the Senior Social Worker for temporary protective custody; coordination is done with licensed child caring facilities if available; and a barangay-level support system/Bantay Bata is established to respond urgently, prevent further abuse/neglect/exploitation, and assist victims and their families through surveillance, information dissemination, education, advocacy, and protection/rehabilitation efforts.
Must be female, 18–45; single or married; at least high school graduate; resident of the barangay; physically healthy (or disabled but capable of tasks); good moral character; preferably with experience with preschool children; must undergo training and accept DSWD technical supervision; must render full time service; must sign a contract to serve for at least two years based on satisfactory performance.
Initial screening by SSWO in coordination with BCPC (or Barangay Development Council if BCPC doesn’t exist), then qualified applicants endorsed to a Municipal Inter-agency Committee composed of DSWD, DILG, DOH, DECS, and LGU for final screening and selection; chairmanship preferably by the LGU representative (e.g., chairman of the Social Service Committee).
Must be an accredited Day Care Worker in an accredited Day Care Center; must conduct two sessions a day (four hours per session) in the same center; and must conduct ECD activities throughout the year.
When the center is used for immoral purposes; children are neglected; center is unsanitary/unfit; located where children are unduly exposed to danger; it shows incompetence or unworthiness; or it continuously deviates from DSWD policies/procedures after extension of technical assistance.